Deterministic placement of ultra-bright near-infrared color centers in arrays of silicon carbide micropillars
At a Glance
Section titled āAt a Glanceā| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2019-12-05 |
| Journal | Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology |
| Authors | Stefania Castelletto, Abdul Salam Al Atem, Faraz Ahmed Inam, H. J. von Bardeleben, Sophie Hameau |
| Institutions | Laboratoire de Physique des Interfaces et des Couches Minces, Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University |
| Citations | 32 |
Abstract
Section titled āAbstractāWe report the enhancement of the optical emission between 850 and 1400 nm of an ensemble of silicon mono-vacancies (V Si ), silicon and carbon divacancies (V C V Si ), and nitrogen vacancies (N C V Si ) in an n-type 4H-SiC array of micropillars. The micropillars have a length of ca. 4.5 Ī¼m and a diameter of ca. 740 nm, and were implanted with H + ions to produce an ensemble of color centers at a depth of approximately 2 Ī¼m. The samples were in part annealed at different temperatures (750 and 900 Ā°C) to selectively produce distinct color centers. For all these color centers we saw an enhancement of the photostable fluorescence emission of at least a factor of 6 using micro-photoluminescence systems. Using custom confocal microscopy setups, we characterized the emission of V Si measuring an enhancement by up to a factor of 20, and of N C V Si with an enhancement up to a factor of 7. The experimental results are supported by finite element method simulations. Our study provides the pathway for device design and fabrication with an integrated ultra-bright ensemble of V Si and N C V Si for in vivo imaging and sensing in the infrared.